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Monday, March 26, 2012

A Layered Skirt Tutorial

I'm Back! The kids had 2 weeks off for Spring Break and are back to school today. One of the fun projects I worked on over spring break was sewing a skirt with my bonus daughter, Leo. (We say "bonus" instead of "step"...Cinderella totally ruined that for all "step" people in this world...haha!).

I apologize in advance for the poor quality photos. My camera broke and I was using an Iphone.

This past weekend, my sister-in-law, Anna, gave me a big bag full of fabrics (now that I am a sewing extraordinaire), so Leo and I had fun going through it and brainstorming on what to make with it all. Here's our conversation:

Me: How about we sew some napkins or coasters, that's a nice simple project to try.

Leo: I've always wanted to try sewing a skirt!

Me: Oh! A skirt..he he...I have no idea how to do that, I've only ever made pillow covers.

Leo: A skirt would be fun, we can use these 2 materials, they look so cool together!

Me: (reluctantly)..well I suppose I could google how to make a skirt.

Leo: A layered skirt!

Me: Layered? How about we start with a simple skirt?

Leo: No...a layered one would be cool! We can do it!

Me: Uh...ok....a layered skirt it is...(eeek!)

And guess what?! We did it! (Thanks for believing in me Leo!) We followed the tutorial over at Make it and Love it (and she has AWESOME photos!). Her tutorial is easy to follow and I totally recommend you go check it out. I do kind of giggle when I see she calls this a "basic" skirt and that "it came together so quickly, make 5 more!" I'm sure it's true for a seasoned sewer, but I am a beginner so mine took hours to make, but the next one will be faster! Rome wasn't built in a day! Practice Practice right?!

What's really cool is that the skirt is made from 3 strips of fabric each one a different measurement.

The measurements on Make it and Love it are for a 5 year old, Leo is 13 and here are the measurements we used for her:

Measure waist. (Leo's waist was 29")

For the top tier multiply the waist x 1.5 (Top Tier: 43.5")

For the middle tier multiply the waist x 2 (Middle Tier: 58")

For the bottom tier multiply the waist x 2.7 (Bottom Tier: 78.3")

Cutting:

Ironing:

Sewing:

This is where Leo abandoned me and left me to shed blood, sweat and tears to get the skirt finished. Okay fine, she went out on a date with her dad for her birthday, but it doesn't make me feel any less abandoned! As she's leaving, she casually says to me.."you can keep working on the skirt if you want.."

My bonus son was laughing at me, as I once again had to rip out a seam I had made and grumbling under my breath..."I wanted to try a simple skirt, but oh no, it had to be complicated!" LOL!! But I was just joking around...(kind of).

What a cutie pie. Love the skirt and the pattern. Thanks for sharing with my newbie party. I prefer a visible link so that others know about the newbie party. A lot of new bloggers out here, and they do not know how to get themselves out there. If they see the visible link or button they know. Most do not look at the party lists on top. Thank you:)

About Me

My friends call me Cath (short for Catherine). I am a
mom, wife, creative being, lover of family,
home, friends and art. I am basically stumbling
through life with all it's ups and downs, laughing
as much as I can and learning from my mistakes...
One project at a time!! To read more please click on the 'About Me' button at the top of the page. :)